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Before and After: An aerial look at Sandy's devastation

Emergency responders and members of the public can now get a birds-eye view of some of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Photographs were taken by teams of NOAA aviators flying above the disaster area at 5,000 feet aboard two aircraft-planes equipped with specialized remote-sensing cameras that captured thousands of photographs at a high resolution. Here's a comparison of several parts of the coast before Hurricane Sandy, and after.

Breezy Point section of Queens, New York. "Before" image captured by Google; "After" image captured by NOAA's National Geodetic Survey.

Breezy Point section of Queens, New York. "Before" image captured by Google; "After" image captured by NOAA's National Geodetic Survey.

The oak that shaded this home on Avon Court in Toms River, N.J., for 70 years yielded to Hurricane Sandy Monday, just half an hour after Bridget Dowd and Ken Mantila evacuated to her parents’ home. Bridget’s neighbors pitched in Tuesday afternoon to trim the fallen monster down to size and get a tarp over holes in the roof. “Knock on wood, the water damage is not too bad,” Bridget told a Red Cross disaster volunteer.

Mount Laurel: Rescue personnel used inflatable boats and even front-end loaders to reach residents -- and even their pets -- stranded by the Atlantic tidal surge compounded by the heavy rain and winds of Hurricane Sandy. Many had been trapped in their homes since early Monday evening. Loader buckets were lifted to the second story and even the attics of homes to retrieve victims, who were then transferred to the beds of dump trucks, which could safely carry them to high ground. One Mount Laurel firefighter, asked how many streets needed to be cleared, answered, “About 50 miles worth.”

The Atlantic Ocean sliced two new channels across Mantoloking, creating three islands from one (and floating this house from the ocean front more than two blocks out into the back bay). Heavy equipment was clearing two to three feet of sand from the main streets Wednesday so trucks could haul in riprap rock to plug the gap and form a temporary bridge. Authorities repeatedly cleared lookers as well as residents from the area because of concerns about leaking natural gas lines. When homeowners are able to return to devastated areas, the Red Cross will be providing clean-up supplies, water and food. A Red Cross disaster worker assessed mile after mile of devastation on Mantoloking, one of the Jersey barrier islands pummeled by Hurricane Sandy. Giant storm waves dumped sand two and three feet deep on roads and inside homes.

Braintree resident Jamie Barry, a staffer in the Brockton and Cambridge offices of the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, is helping operate one of the staff shelters in New York City. She is supporting the volunteers who are providing everything from food to shelter to support while the region recovers from Hurricane Sandy. Volunteers are giving us 14 days of their lives to sleep on cots and help people in crisis. Jamie's job is to make it so volunteers can focus on those they're helping. Also in the photo are Francis Sale, Andy Sale and Rob Merryman

Kaitlyn Miller, 15, keeps herself warm with a blanket from the Red Cross at the Pinebelt arena in Toms River, N.J.

Candice Haugland of Seaside Heights, N.J., and her niece, eight-year-old Amy Hoopingarner and two-month-old Nora Remington, are settling in at the Red Cross shelter in the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River, N.J. A steady flow of evacuees has been filling the shelter since Sunday; shelter capacity is 1,100.

The Red Cross dispatched dozens of emergency response vehicles to neighborhoods all over New Jersey to feed residents who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Two of the feeding teams brought 1,000 meals each to a housing complex for the elderly and disabled that remains out of power in Bayonne, NJ.

The first floor of the building where Cynthia Wojkiewicz lives in Seaside, N.J., flooded during the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, but she felt safe on the second floor. She plans to stay until her food runs out – a couple more days, in her words. Cynthia moved to the Jersey barrier island eight years ago from Jackson, Miss., where she endured Hurricane Katrina. Two days after the storm, she was putting out food for stray kittens along the island’s famed boardwalk.

Three tractor trailers filled with emergency relief supplies from the Greater Boston Food Bank left Boston at 4 a.m. Saturday for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Volunteers make quick work of repackaging food items at City Harvest in New York

BNY Mellon, a supporter of The Greater Boston Food Bank and City Harvest, has volunteers on site to help with the repackaging of food items for those in need

A man looks over the debris on the Seaside Heights, N.J., beach near Casino Pier on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012.

Waves wash over a roller coaster from a Seaside Heights, N.J. amusement park that fell in the Atlantic Ocean during superstorm Sandy on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012.

The view of storm damage over the Atlantic Coast in Seaside Heights, N.J., Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, from a helicopter traveling behind the helicopter carrying President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

The view of storm damage over the Atlantic Coast in Seaside Heights, N.J., Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, from a helicopter traveling behind the helicopter carrying President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

On a National Guard truck, Ali LaPointe, of Hoboken, N.J., hands her daughter Eliza Skye LaPointe, 18-months-old, to Hoboken firefighters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in Hoboken, N.J., in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Some residents are being plucked from their homes by large trucks as parts of the city are still covered in standing water.

Brian Hajeski, 41, of Brick, N.J., reacts after looking at debris of a home that washed up on to the Mantoloking Bridge the morning after superstorm Sandy rolled through, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Mantoloking, N.J. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.

Rescuers bring people out by boat in Little Ferry, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Sandy arrived along the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, putting more than 7.5 million homes and businesses in the dark and causing a number of deaths.

Waves pound a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Erie Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, near Cleveland. High winds spinning off the edge of superstorm Sandy took a vicious swipe at northeast Ohio early Tuesday, uprooting trees, cutting power to hundreds of thousands, closing schools and flooding parts of major commuter arteries that run along Lake Erie.

An aerial photo of Breezy Point, Queens, shows a charred hole where over 100 homes once stood. A blaze ignited during Sandy consumed a significant portion of the firefighter-built neighborhood, but thankfully caused no serious injuries.

Flooding inside the Holland Tunnel which connects New York City with New Jersey.

Flooding inside the PATH Station at New York City's World Trade Center.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

An aerial look at damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey.

Water reaches the street level of the Battery Park Underpass, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York.

Water reaches street level at the West Street entrance to the Battery Park Underpass, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York.

Mayor Bloomberg tours some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy.

The twisted remains of a Hudson River marina are seen across from New York City as a result of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ.

Boats and other debris sit on the track on the Long Island Railroad's Long Beach Branch near the bridge at Reynolds Channel in Island Park/Long Beach, New York Tuesday Oct. 30, 2012.

Early morning commuters cross New York's Brooklyn Bridge, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. Morning rush-hour traffic appeared thicker than on an ordinary day as people started to return to work in a New York without functioning subways. Cars were bumper-to-bumper on several major highways.

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Battery Park Underpass Flooding

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Subway Station - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Station Platform - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

South Ferry Station Platform - Damage to the MTA New York City Transit system in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Sea water floods the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York.

Cars are submerged at the entrance to a parking garage in New York's Financial District in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012.

Water reaches the street level of the flooded Battery Park Underpass, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. Superstorm Sandy arrived along the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, putting more than 7.5 million homes and businesses in the dark and causing a number of deaths.

Water reaches the street level of the flooded Battery Park Underpass, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. Superstorm Sandy arrived along the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, putting more than 7.5 million homes and businesses in the dark and causing a number of deaths.

This photo provided by Dylan Patrick shows flooding along the Westside Highway near the USS Intrepid as Sandy moves through the area Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 in New York. Much of New York was plunged into darkness Monday by a superstorm that overflowed the city's historic waterfront, flooded the financial district and subway tunnels and cut power to nearly a million people.

Pedestrians walk past the boardwalk and cars displaced by superstorm Sandy, near Rockaway Beach in the New York City borough of Queens, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York.

Pedestrians walk past the boardwalk and cars displaced by superstorm Sandy, near Rockaway Beach in the New York City borough of Queens, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York.

Pedestrians asses the damage from flooding near Rockaway Beach in the New York City borough of Queens in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York.

Pedestrians asses the damage from flooding near Rockaway Beach in the New York City borough of Queens Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York.

Water and debris blocks a section of South Street in lower Manhattan, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.

Streets are flooded under the Manhattan Bridge in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, N.Y., Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

Lower Manhattan goes dark during superstorm Sandy, on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, as seen from the Brooklyn Heights promenade in the Brooklyn borough of New York. One World Trade Center, background center, remains brightly lit. Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

Sea water floods the Ground Zero construction site, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

Flood waters rush in to the Hoboken PATH station through an elevator shaft.

A security camera shows water beginning to fill the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in Downtown Manhattan.

The number 1 subway train station is blocked by sandbags at Battery Park in New York Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in preparation for a possible storm surge as Hurricane Sandy approaches the East Coast. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

A 168-foot water tanker, the John B. Caddell, sits on the shore Tuesday morning, Oct. 30, 2012 where it ran aground on Front Street in the Stapleton neighborhood of New York's Staten Island as a result of superstorm Sandy.

NJ Transit busses sit in flood water as a result of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ.

A parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded as a result of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ.

Grand Central Terminal is shut down and empty Monday morning as Metro-North service is suspended in preparation for Sandy.

A boat rests on the tracks at Metro-North's Ossining Station on the Hudson Line

Train at Metro-North Railroad's Croton-Harmon station, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

This image from video provided by Dani Hart shows what appears to be a transformer exploding in lower Manhattan as seen from a building rooftop from the Navy Yard in Brooklyn during Sandy’s arrival in New York City. Much of New York was plunged into darkness Monday by a superstorm that overflowed the city's historic waterfront, flooded the financial district and subway tunnels and cut power to nearly a million people.

This photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, shows what appear to be transformers exploding after much of lower Manhattan lost power during hurricane Sandy in New York.

A look at the damage caused by a fire in the New York City borough of Queens, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. The fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses Monday night in the flooded neighborhood.

Keith Klein, right, and Eileen Blair assess the damage caused by a fire in the New York City borough of Queens, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. The fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses Monday night in the flooded neighborhood. More than 190 firefighters have contained the six-alarm blaze fire, but they are still putting out some pockets of fire.

A construction crane atop a luxury high-rise dangles precariously over the streets after collapsing in high winds from Hurricane Sandy, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York.

This image from video provided by Dani Hart shows what appears to be a transformer exploding in lower Manhattan as seen from a building rooftop from the Navy Yard in Brooklyn during Sandy’s arrival in New York City. Much of New York was plunged into darkness Monday by a superstorm that overflowed the city's historic waterfront, flooded the financial district and subway tunnels and cut power to nearly a million people.

The Hudson River swells and rises over the banks of the Hoboken, N.J., waterfront as Hurricane Sandy approaches on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

A sign at this subway station on 6th Avenue in New York City warns passengers the subway is closed due to Hurricane Sandy.

Water levels are high now at Greenwich St. and Albany St. downtown near the World Trade Center.

Flooding at LaGuardia Airport in New York

An FDNY inflatable is prepared for launch along 14th street east of Avenue B where water has trapped people in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York.

This photo provided by Dylan Patrick shows flooding along the Westside Highway near the USS Intrepid as Sandy moves through the area Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 in New York.

A lone pedestrian stand with his scooter near a message about superstorm Sandy in New York's Times Square, early Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012.

Chad Meyers, an emergency room physician at Bellevue Hospital Center, walks down First Avenue near East 23rd Street after the facility experienced flooding and switched to emergency backup power early Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York.

Residents carry sandbags to slow flooding to their building as the East River overflows into the Dumbo section of the Brooklyn borough of New York, as Sandy moves through the area, on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012.

Streets around a Con Edison substation are flooded as the East River overflows into the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, N.Y., as Sandy moves through the area on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012.

FDNY inflatable boats travel along 14th street towards the East River on a rescue mission in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York.

Lower Manhattan goes dark during superstorm Sandy, on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, as seen from the Brooklyn Heights promenade in the Brooklyn borough of New York. One World Trade Center, center, remains brightly lit.

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